IEC dismisses MK Party worry about dead people on voters' roll
The Electoral Commission says names of people who died after the voters' roll was certified may still show as registered voters. The uMkhonto weSizwe Party claims more than 200 deceased people appear on the roll.
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Mawethu Mosery, the IEC Deputy Chief Electoral Officer, said these people were alive when the roll was finalised. He said that is why their names may still appear as registered voters.
Mosery said voters must still show valid identification at voting stations. He added that deceased people appear in the rejected section at the back of the roll.
World
Russian bombing of Ukrainian aid point kills 40 people
Officials said 59 people are still missing after Russian aerial bombs hit an underground school used to hand out aid in Komyshuvakha, in the Zaporizhzhia region, on Monday. Russia's defence ministry said it targeted Ukrainian soldiers.
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Ivan Fedorov, co-head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Defence Council, gave the number of missing people. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces first dropped aerial bombs on the school building, then struck the shelter with more bombs. Ukraine's national police said several strikes hit the area, including one from a 3 tonne FAB glide bomb.
Russia's defence ministry said the attack targeted Ukrainian military units around Komyshuvakha and two other settlements. It said up to 25 Ukrainian servicemen were killed. Russia and Ukraine both deny deliberately targeting civilians.
Delegations from Ukraine and Russia will hold talks in Abu Dhabi on 10 and 11 November, convened by the United States. US first lady Melania Trump brokered a six-day local ceasefire to evacuate civilians from Oleshky. She said nearly 800 people were evacuated.
PoliticsEconomy
Government plans task team to split rail network from Transnet
Government aims to set up a technical task team by the end of 2026 to finalise how it will corporatise the Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager (TRIM). The move would place rail infrastructure management in a separate entity outside the Transnet Group.
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The plan appears in the Operation Vulindlela Quarter 2 progress report. Operation Vulindlela is a government reform initiative under the Presidency. The Department of Transport drives the unbundling with it, and National Treasury provides oversight.
TRIM became a separate entity from Transnet Freight Rail in October 2024. In September, TRIM released the fourth version of its Network Statement, which includes public input. The Operation Vulindlela report said this version addresses key issues that industry raised to make rail investments bankable.
Jan Havenga, Professor of Logistics at Stellenbosch University, said this is the best news he has heard about Transnet in some time. He said Transnet carries heavy debt that current management inherited. He said an operator with its own balance sheet and problems clouds talk about the future of the rail lines, and he argued that Transnet could not drive this change itself.
Politics
IEC says local election voting went largely smoothly
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) said 98% of the 23,696 voting stations opened by 7am on Wednesday. Some stations opened late because of protests and rain, and an elderly woman died in a queue in Shallcross, KwaZulu-Natal.
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Preliminary indications were that 3.5 million voters had cast ballots by 10am. The IEC said voting went well overall, although glitches affected some stations.
A police officer was removed from election duty after allegedly arriving at a KwaZulu-Natal polling station in a vehicle branded with posters of a political party. The officer faces possible disciplinary processes.
In Limpopo, police arrested a party agent. The agent allegedly filmed an IEC official counting envelopes that held ballot papers, then gave feedback to the area manager. The agent allegedly showed the video to other party agents, who entered the voting station and caused disruptions.
Top storiesPolitics
IEC says about 12 million had voted by 5pm
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) said preliminary figures showed about 12 million people had voted in the local government elections by 5pm. Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo said anyone in the queue at 9pm would still vote.
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Mamabolo said Gauteng had the most votes by 5pm, at 3 million. KwaZulu-Natal came next with 2.5 million, then the Western Cape with 1.5 million and the Eastern Cape with 1.4 million. Limpopo had 1.1 million.
The smaller provinces followed. Mpumalanga had about 854,000 votes, North West about 702,000, Free State about 588,000 and Northern Cape about 299,000. The IEC said all these figures are preliminary.
Mamabolo said voting went well across the country, despite a few isolated incidents. He briefed the media at the Results Operations Centre in Midrand. The IEC said 98% of voting stations opened on time, and that some stations had delays from local protests and heavy rain. It said generators and alternative lighting were in place where power cuts hit stations.
After voting closed, the IEC said ballots will be counted at voting stations. Results will be verified and scanned at local offices. The IEC will declare final results and council seat allocations within seven days.
WorldCrime
Palestine Action co-founder challenges terror ban at UK Supreme Court
Lawyers for Huda Ammori told the court on Wednesday that the ban on Palestine Action is disproportionate and weakens counter-terrorism laws. Some protesters were arrested outside the court, and more than 300 people were arrested outside the US embassy in London last weekend.
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Ammori's lawyers said only three of 385 actions over five years met the definition of terrorism when the group was banned. Lawyer Raza Husain said the suffragettes and other groups used tactics similar to those of Palestine Action, or more extreme ones.
The Home Office argues that the group's escalating actions amounted to terrorism and justified the ban. It said a 2024 attack on the Elbit site involved violence and weapons used against security staff and police officers. The damage from that raid was estimated at £1m (R22m).
Home Office statistics show more than 3,600 arrests linked to support for the group between the ban in July 2025 and June. Total arrests linked to Palestine Action now exceed 4,000.
Politics
Langa voters wade through raw sewage to reach polling station
Voters at the Johnson Ngwevela voting station in Langa, Cape Town, walked through sewage from a burst pipe on election day. Residents said such bursts happen often in the township, and an EFF candidate blamed the DA.
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EFF Cape Town mayoral candidate Nontando Nolotshungu said the burst pipe showed poor service delivery to townships by the Democratic Alliance (DA). She said nothing had been done about it by 2:10pm.
ANC supporter Fundilwazi Sityoshwana said Langa needs new sewers. He said the system was not built for the number of people who now live in the township.
Nolotshungu also said an EFF city government would stop all sales of City-owned land. She said the party would use the land to build housing instead.
Up to 20 people share one bathroom in the former men-only hostel in Langa.
WorldPolitics
Iran welcomes Democratic wins in US midterm elections
Iranian officials said US voters rejected the war launched by President Donald Trump after the Democrats won both the Senate and the House. Tehran stayed on high alert for possible new US strikes.
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Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who is also Iran's chief negotiator, posted on X after the vote. He said Americans had chosen peace, whether out of conscience or because of the cost of living, and that Iran supported that message.
Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a written statement that US hostility would continue whichever party held power. He said Washington thought the end of its dominance was far off, while Iran thought it was close.
Iranian media ran triumphant and mocking coverage. At a state-organised rally in Tehran, a demonstrator who gave only his family name, Nazari, said the power of the Republicans had been broken.
Senior Iranian officials said Tehran had deliberately prolonged talks with the US to weaken Trump politically before the vote. Two senior Iranian sources said Trump could try to make up for the result with a military strike.
Trump told Fox News that Iran was part of the reason for the result. He said voters also understood the importance of what he had done on Iran. The US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February, and the war is in its ninth month.
Politics
Parliament's NCOP Secretary Modibedi Phindela dies
Advocate Modibedi Phindela, Secretary to the National Council of Provinces, has died. Parliament's Presiding Officers announced his death on Tuesday night. He had held the post since March 2009.
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Phindela first served as an Under-Secretary in Parliament. He was then appointed Secretary to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP).
The Activists and Citizens Forum said it was saddened by his death. Its spokesperson, Dennis Bloem, said the country had lost a hardworking and loyal public servant.
Bloem said Phindela served with distinction and was a people's person. He said Phindela kept his position separate from politics and treated all political parties equally.
PoliticsCrime
Election materials stolen from eThekwini school before voting
Unused ballots and the certified voters' roll were stolen overnight from Mnyameni Secondary School in Ward 2. The Electoral Commission of South Africa said the station still had enough materials, the roll was reprinted, and a theft case is open.
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Ntombifuthi Masinga, the KwaZulu-Natal provincial electoral officer, said the theft exposes a risk across the whole metro. She said the PR ballot is the same at every voting station in eThekwini. She said parties and voters should be alert across the metro.
Masinga also said any stolen ballot would be easy to identify, because it would carry the wrong station stamp. She said the commission was comfortable with its checks and balances. Ward 2 has 21 voting stations and 56 candidates on its ballot.
Elsewhere, the commission said 5,028 voting stations were prepared across KwaZulu-Natal, which has 6,022,350 registered voters. Logistical problems delayed 50 stations in Ndwedwe. Three stations in Umzumbe could not be reached because the roads were inaccessible. SAPS and the SANDF are assisting in both areas.
Over two days, 234,297 of 362,878 approved special votes were cast in the province. That is a turnout of 65%.
Other
Elderly woman dies in voting queue south of Durban
An elderly woman collapsed in the queue at the Shallcross Primary School voting station on election day on Wednesday. She was declared dead on arrival at a nearby hospital, a presiding officer of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) confirmed.
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Election observer Pretty Jwarah described the incident. She said people in the queue gave the woman water and that she called the woman's daughter, who came to the station.
Jwarah also claimed that no ambulance came. She said the family took the woman to hospital in an Uber car instead. This claim comes from one person and the IEC did not confirm it.
WorldPolitics
Indonesia's president sacks chief of staff over wiretap arrests
President Prabowo Subianto sacked Listyo Sigit Prabowo, a former national police chief, a day after he and two other senior police officers were detained. The military said thousands of troops were being mobilised in Jakarta.
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Police detained three senior officers on Tuesday over alleged illegal tapping of the phones of the president and others. One was Listyo, who became chief of staff a few weeks earlier. Reports said the taps also targeted journalists, politicians, officials and business people since early 2025.
Presidential spokesperson Prasetyo Hadi said rogue individuals carried out the taps. He said their acts pointed to treason and threatened state interests and the safety of the head of state. Sugiono, secretary-general of the Gerindra party, called the affair insubordination within the government.
Legal affairs minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the government had not yet found the motive. Navy spokesperson Tunggul said the troop deployment was meant to protect security and stability. He also linked it to training planned near Jakarta.
Researcher Sana Jaffrey of the Australian National University said the scandal raises questions about how the government handles the matter. She also warned of possible tension between the military and police loyal to Listyo. Amnesty International in Indonesia urged authorities to name the wiretap targets. It warned that unchecked, the scandal might allow a secret police to be used against opponents.
Politics
Tshwane voters in party shirts allegedly turned away at polls
Voters told journalists they were sent away from Tshwane voting stations for wearing party regalia during the local government elections on Wednesday. The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) denied this and said only the entourages of mayoral candidates were barred.
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Moses, an IEC regional manager, said ordinary voters in party T-shirts were allowed to vote. He said only the group travelling with Omphile Maotwe, the EFF Tshwane mayoral candidate, was stopped from entering a station. The DA and EFF said ordinary residents may wear party colours when they vote. They said only party agents may not wear regalia inside polling stations.
The DA and the EFF also complained that presiding officers restricted journalists who covered their mayoral candidates. The parties named the His Sanctuary Ministry voting station in Montana, Ward 5. They called the treatment of the media an overreach of authority. Maotwe said the IEC must address the matter and that the presiding officers at that station should be removed.
Masego Sheburi, the IEC deputy chief electoral officer for electoral operations, said the problem was resolved. He said the IEC reminded voting stations that the media may conduct interviews without permission from presiding officers. He said journalists need no separate accreditation.
Sport
Sundowns edge Golden Arrows to reach cup semifinals
Mamelodi Sundowns beat Lamontville Golden Arrows 1-0 in the Carling Knockout Cup quarterfinal at Loftus Versfeld on Tuesday. Iqraam Rayners scored the only goal in the 69th minute.
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The win sends Sundowns into the semifinals. It is their second cup semifinal in a row this season. Coach Miguel Cardoso said his side could have finished the match earlier, but he was pleased with the result.
Cardoso said the team stayed loyal to the plan and the performance was solid. He said the first goal gave his side some stability and put pressure on the opponent. He also called Arrows coach Mandla Ncikazi very clever.
Ncikazi blamed poor decision-making in the final third for the defeat. He said Arrows got chances to shoot but were not as clinical as Sundowns. He said his side will not win games if they do not decide well in that area.
Politics
Mantashe tells ANC to accept election results
ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe spoke after voting in Boksburg on Wednesday. He told members not to query the results or discredit the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), and said the party must first try to win municipalities alone.
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Mantashe voted at Freeway Park Primary School in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni. He said he gave the ANC eight votes from his family. He said it was the last time he would vote as an ANC leader, and that his term ends in December 2027.
He said the ANC must give the IEC credibility even if members are unhappy with the results. He said other parties like to discredit the commission. The results are due at the weekend.
Mantashe said polls show the ANC losing more ground, especially in metros. He claimed support in eThekwini could collapse because of the MK Party. He also said the ANC's grip is slipping in Buffalo City and Mangaung, the only metros it runs with an outright majority.
On coalitions, he said the ANC must first try to win as many municipalities as it can on its own. Asked about the government of national unity, he said the party is trying to make it work and that it sometimes does and sometimes does not.
A 54-year-old woman was arrested in Mnquma for allegedly sharing a voice note that threatened violence and urged residents not to vote. Residents also blocked a voting station in Dutywa, and muddy roads hampered access near Bizana.
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Police said the woman, who is 54, circulated the voice note in Ward 22 of the Mnquma Local Municipality. Police said she threatened violence and discouraged residents from voting because of poor service delivery.
Provincial Police Commissioner Vuyisile Ncata said the situation at the Dutywa voting station was under control. He said the station had reopened.
The Electoral Commission and police said they remain on high alert. They said they want voting to stay peaceful and uninterrupted.
PoliticsTech
False election claims spread online as South Africans vote
Debunked posts on X, TikTok and Facebook claim ballot theft, vote rigging and a fake ANC R300 giveaway during the local municipal election on Wednesday. The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) says routine procedures are being shown as fraud.
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Other false posts say asylum seekers and undocumented foreign nationals are being registered to vote. A fake poll graphic claimed the ANC had 43% support in Tshwane and said President Cyril Ramaphosa promised to protect ANC members from corruption charges. Africa Check found that claim to be fabricated.
A widely shared video showed a ballot box in Rustenburg. Africa Check investigated it and found the box was sealed and labelled as a home-visit ballot box.
The IEC said ordinary steps, such as video of staff returning and checking special-vote materials, are presented as proof of fraud. It said these unproven fraud claims undermine confidence in the election. The IEC also reported some genuine election-related offences, including arrests. Reports said it received more than 700 disinformation complaints.
Politics
Ramaphosa and three former presidents vote in local elections
Voting is underway at 23,696 stations in the Local Government Elections. Stations opened at 7am and are due to close at 9pm, with First Lady Tshepo Motsepe also casting her vote.
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President Cyril Ramaphosa voted in Johannesburg, and former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe also cast their ballots. Former president Jacob Zuma voted at Ntolwane Primary School in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal. He leads the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP).
Zuma spoke to the media after he voted in Ward 14. He called for political tolerance and said he hoped people would respect each other. He said he was confident the MKP would make significant gains, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal.
Zuma also said people in the country wanted change. He said the voting process was smooth and everything seemed to be in order. KwaZulu-Natal has the highest number of hotspot areas and a history of political violence.
Politics
IEC reports smooth start to 2026 local elections
The Electoral Commission of South Africa said 98% of the 23,696 voting stations opened by 7am on Wednesday. By 10am, preliminary figures showed 3,523,691 voters had cast ballots, and police opened a case over stolen ballot papers in eThekwini.
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Masego Sheburi, the IEC Deputy Chief Electoral Officer, spoke at a media briefing at the Results Operations Centre in Midrand. He said the commission was encouraged by the enthusiasm of voters. He also said the Voter Management Devices worked well and helped staff process and verify voters.
Gauteng had the most votes by 10am, with 895,384. KwaZulu-Natal followed with 623,380 and the Western Cape with 461,264. The Eastern Cape had 431,123 and Limpopo 366,378.
Mpumalanga had 252,859 votes, North West 204,736 and the Free State 195,537. The Northern Cape had 93,030.
The IEC said unused ballot papers and a stamp were stolen at one voting station in Ward 2 in eThekwini, which has 20 voting stations. Sheburi said the staff at that station were relieved of their duty. The South African Police Service opened a case.
Sheburi reminded voters to choose only one candidate or party per ballot. He said extra marks or more than one choice could spoil the ballot. Voters in local municipalities receive three ballot papers and voters in metropolitan municipalities receive two.
PoliticsEconomy
Ramaphosa says SA is diversifying trade after Agoa exclusion
President Cyril Ramaphosa said after voting in Johannesburg that South Africa wants a bilateral trade agreement with the United States. The trade department confirmed the US gave 60 days' notice that Agoa benefits end on 1 January 2027.
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Ramaphosa spoke on the sidelines after he voted at Hyde Park High School in the local government elections. He said diversifying trade has become the priority. He said South Africa started to diversify when the process of the Liberation Day tariff increase began.
The president called the exclusion from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) a negative for the country. He said Agoa is a unilateral arrangement that the US decides on. He said South Africa prefers a bilateral agreement that both sides negotiate with Washington.
Reports said Agoa exports were worth $1.7bn (R29bn) in 2025 and $4bn in 2024. Agoa exports make up about 1% of South Africa's total global exports.
Politics
Fake ID claim brings police to Midrand voting station
Police went to the Kanana Primary School voting station in Rabie Ridge after a voter allegedly showed a fake ID. The dispute delayed voting for hours, and residents who queued from 5am said no one told them anything.
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An eyewitness said a voter produced an ID that looked fake, which led to a squabble. The station opened at 8am, and residents said they had been waiting since 5am.
Voter Daniel Motlhanke said he had waited over two hours. He said he and others were not being told anything and were not taken seriously.
Resident Elias Maswanganye asked that people be allowed to wait in a classroom instead of standing outside. He also said the long wait was a tactic to make voters forget who to vote for. A security guard said party members had earlier tried to take pictures and videos of the commotion.
WorldCrime
Ukraine anti-corruption bureau targets senior officials in fraud cover-up
Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (Nabu) said top staff of the security service, national police and prosecutor general's office allegedly took bribes to shield a call centre that scammed victims. Nabu also said it finished its energy-sector money-laundering probe.
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Nabu said the call centre fraud probe, made public in September, led to the resignation of former prosecutor general Ruslan Kravchenko. He was not charged. Investigators said his resignation followed an accusation that a subordinate helped run the ring. They said the ring targeted both Ukrainians and foreigners.
Nabu also said it completed its investigation into an alleged money-laundering scheme in the energy sector. The scheme involved a former deputy prime minister and energy minister. It also forced out the former chief of staff of President Volodymyr Zelensky. All of them denied wrongdoing.
In Transparency International's latest Corruption Perceptions Index, Ukraine ranked 104th out of 182 countries.
ScienceWorld
England trial tests blood checks for earlier cancer diagnosis
A clinical trial in England will test whether family doctors can use simple blood tests to spot some common cancers sooner. At least 200 GP practices will take part, covering more than 20,000 patients.
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The University of Birmingham developed the tests. They look for signs of several cancers in a blood sample and suggest where in the body the cancer comes from.
Patients aged 45 and over who visit a GP with abdominal symptoms can take part. The practices belong to the National Health Service (NHS) in England.
The trial will measure how well the tests support the judgment of GPs. The results will help decide whether to roll the tests out nationally. Reports described it as a world first, and noted that cancer mortality in Britain is among the highest of OECD countries per person.
WorldPolitics
Democrats win US Congress in midterm vote, projections show
Democrats won back the US House and Senate in Tuesday's midterm elections, according to media projections. Exit polls showed voters angry about high prices and the direction of the country, and a rebuke of President Donald Trump.
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Democrat James Talarico beat Republican attorney general Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race. Annie Andrews, a paediatrician, beat Republican senator Darline Graham in South Carolina. Reports said Democrats also won Senate races in Ohio, Kansas and North Carolina, and flipped eight Republican House seats.
Exit polls showed three-quarters of voters were angry or dissatisfied with the direction of the country. Half saw the vote as a chance to rebuke the president. 70% wanted Congress to provide more checks on him. Reports linked the anger to fuel price rises after Trump launched a war against Iran in February.
Trump wrote on social media that he was not on the ballot and would have won in a landslide if he had been. He also told media outlets he would accept the results and work with Democrats. Senator Jon Ossoff said voters had rebuked Trump after his projected win in Georgia.
Before the vote, the Justice Department deployed 1,000 monitors to all 50 states. Democrats criticised the plan as possible voter intimidation. Analysts said winning Congress could bring Democrats pressure to address economic worries.
Science
Kruger Park faces R481 million gap to fix flood damage
Environment Minister David Maynier said the park still lacks R481 million to repair roads, bridges and accommodation damaged in January floods. Repairs are estimated to cost R950 million, and R87 million has been spent so far.
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Projects worth R188 million have been approved so far. South African National Parks (SANParks) set aside R100 million for the repairs. National government allocated R218 million, and an insurance settlement added R150 million.
About 90,000 guests visited the park in February 2026. That was 7,000 fewer than in February 2025. The park had 1.87 million visitors in the 12 months through March 2025.
WorldPolitics
Spain's transport minister resigns after two deadly train crashes
Oscar Puente quit after a four-hour grilling by a caretaker parliament body over rail accidents that killed 115 people combined. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez named Deputy Prime Minister Carlos Cuerpo, also economy minister, to run the ministry on an interim basis.
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Puente resigned six days after the second accident. Sanchez announced the change in a brief televised address on Wednesday. He said Cuerpo had shown great capacity for management and integrity in this legislature.
Opposition People's Party (PP) leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo said on X that Sanchez should do the same and resign. He wrote this in reply to a post in which Sanchez praised Puente.
Independent political analyst Eduardo Bayon said the resignation took away the main target of the PP. He said the debate would now move from who should go to what should be done. Bayon said the government must act with concrete railway security and investment measures, and that trust in high-speed rail will stay a campaign topic ahead of the election on 29 November.
Politics
Voters in northern Durban turn out despite service anger
Voting in the 2026 Local Government Elections began at 7am on Wednesday and closes at 9pm. Voters in Inanda, Verulam and Ntuzuma said poor services frustrate them, but they still came to vote.
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Voters in northern Durban said they lack water and electricity and face roads damaged by potholes. Hlengiwe Ndimande, 50, from Congo in Inanda, arrived at her voting station at 5:40am. She said the process was smooth and that Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) officials did a great job.
Ndimande said she had planned not to vote. She changed her mind when she realised that many people stay away because they are angry about poor services. Zandile Nyuswa, 58, voted at Hazelmeer near Verulam. She said not voting was not an option, because nothing changes if she stays home.
Nomusa Nhlengethwa, 81, from Ntuzuma, has voted in every election since 1994. She said she is satisfied with the progress on services in her area.
Young voters in other areas gave similar reasons. Nicole Mageza, 25, a first-time voter from Kempton Park, said she wants to be part of a group that makes a difference. Tumelo Chiloane said the municipality must improve services and create jobs, because the townships have none. Nikiwe Ndawonde, a first-time voter from Kimberley, said things are bad in Galeshewe and she wants democratic change.
Economy
Cape Town homes get scarcer and dearer as wealthy buyers arrive
Listings in Cape Town have fallen by more than 20% since October 2025, according to Property24, while prices keep rising. Housing is a key issue for voters in the municipal elections held on Wednesday.
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Cape Town's population grew by almost 80% to nearly 5 million since the turn of the millennium. Average property prices have risen by about 190% since 2010. Lightstone data shows a home worth more than R6 million takes an average of 49 days to sell in the city, against 67 days nationally.
Foreign buyers drive the top of the market. About 75% of properties bought by individuals for more than R20 million in the first half of 2026 went to people who are not South African. The share is 35% when companies, trusts and South African individuals are included.
Broker Lance Cohen said some houses now sell at prices that are uncomfortably high for him. Ross Levin of Seeff Property Group said annual unit sales on the Atlantic Seaboard and in the City Bowl will fall for the first time in five years, while the super-luxury segment performs at levels not seen before.
Savills forecasts prime residential capital value growth of 4% to 5.9% in Cape Town in the second half of the year. City officials want to apply commercial tariffs to properties used mainly for short-term rentals. About 27,500 housing units are listed on Airbnb in the city.
Politics
Heavy rain slows voters in the eastern Eastern Cape
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) says voting stations in the Alfred Nzo East area are fully operational, even though rain makes it hard for some voters to reach them. Trucks carried ballot papers along muddy rural roads.
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Voter Sizwe Ndlovu cast his vote early despite the rain. He said it was hard for people to vote in the weather. He said some voters live far from polling stations and have no money or transport, and that transport is hard to find in the harsh weather.
A post on social media said police in the Eastern Cape arrested two suspects for allegedly trying to steal ballot papers in Ngcobo. The police have not confirmed this in the information given here.
Crime
Health regulator stops approving Section 21 medicine applications
Lawyer Ricky Stone says the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority has refused every new Section 21 application since July, leaving medical cannabis patients unsure how to get treatment. He says the regulator gave no public reason.
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Section 21 of the Medicines Act lets patients get unregistered medicines, including cannabis-based medicines. Stone works at Cullinan & Associates and represents people who used this route to reach medical cannabis. He said hundreds, if not thousands, of applications were submitted.
Stone said a blanket refusal raises serious legal questions. He said the regulator must still consider each application, think about it and make a rational decision. In his view, patients and their doctors may have grounds to challenge rejections in court.
Stone also said Section 21 has been largely abused and has become an easy route to cannabis. He spoke in an interview with a CapeTalk presenter. The regulator has not commented in the facts available.